28 years ago, Flamengo won the Libertadores
The title came with a 2-0 victory over Cobreloa, on November 23, 1981, in Uruguay.
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
It all happened on November 23, 1981, in the third match against Cobreloa, from Chile. After winning 2-1 at the Maracanã and losing 1-0 in Santiago, Flamengo had to play an extra game against Cobreloa in a neutral venue - the chosen venue was the legendary Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, in a game played on a Monday.
Without Lico, injured due to the Chilean attacks, Paulo Cesar Capergiani formed the team with Nei Dias at right back, Leandro in the middle and Adílio in Lico's position. The team that entered the field, with the Uruguayan flag in hand, formed Raul, Nei Dias, Marinho, Mozer, Júnior, Leandro, Andrade, Zico, Tita, Nunes (later Anselmo) and Adilio.
And the Brazilians displayed their best football. With two goals from Zico, Flamengo defeated Cobreloa and finally reached the top of the Americas, winning its most important title to date, the Copa Libertadores. A triumph that qualified the club to compete the following month in the World Cup in Japan against European champions Liverpool—a match that would go down in history.
Mauricio Neves, lawyer and university professor, and contributor to Flamengo's official website, where he writes a blog ( http://www.flamengo.com.br/site/blog/blog.php?id=5), narrates how the victory over Cobreloa was constructed:
"And how Adílio played that night, as if he were doing it for himself, for Lico, and for the millions of red-and-black fans. In the 17th minute of the first half, he recovered a ball in the Chilean box and passed it to Andrade, who found Zico in the middle of the box. Zico volleyed it into the right corner and paved the way for the title. Shortly after, Alarcon committed a violent foul on Adílio, as if still counting on the impunity that reigned in Santiago, but was sent off by Roque Cerullo.
Cobreloa kept pushing, and in a retaliatory move, Andrade was also sent off. Still, Flamengo had the ball, and in the 30th minute, Adílio broke free and tried to chip the ball over goalkeeper Wirth, who was already outside the box and blocked the dribble with his hands. A free kick just outside the box. Guess who's going to take it, the song asks, guess who's going to take it with his customary perfection, leaving the Chilean goalkeeper frozen in place? Zico, king of the Red-Black Nation, put his unmistakable signature on the sentence declaring Flamengo the best team in South America.
There was still time for reserve Anselmo to enter the game and return the blows to Mario Soto, who had left bruises on Adílio, Lico, Zico, and Tita. But what everyone really wanted was to get the party started, which would be short-lived because there was still a Rio de Janeiro championship to win and a long trip to Tokyo in mid-December, and everyone deserved to celebrate the trophy won with blood, sweat, and talent.".
To read the full text about the 1981 Libertadores, visit the History page of the official website: http://www.flamengo.com.br/site/conteudo/conteudo.php?id=12 .
Without Lico, injured due to the Chilean attacks, Paulo Cesar Capergiani formed the team with Nei Dias at right back, Leandro in the middle and Adílio in Lico's position. The team that entered the field, with the Uruguayan flag in hand, formed Raul, Nei Dias, Marinho, Mozer, Júnior, Leandro, Andrade, Zico, Tita, Nunes (later Anselmo) and Adilio.
And the Brazilians displayed their best football. With two goals from Zico, Flamengo defeated Cobreloa and finally reached the top of the Americas, winning its most important title to date, the Copa Libertadores. A triumph that qualified the club to compete the following month in the World Cup in Japan against European champions Liverpool—a match that would go down in history.
Mauricio Neves, lawyer and university professor, and contributor to Flamengo's official website, where he writes a blog ( http://www.flamengo.com.br/site/blog/blog.php?id=5), narrates how the victory over Cobreloa was constructed:
"And how Adílio played that night, as if he were doing it for himself, for Lico, and for the millions of red-and-black fans. In the 17th minute of the first half, he recovered a ball in the Chilean box and passed it to Andrade, who found Zico in the middle of the box. Zico volleyed it into the right corner and paved the way for the title. Shortly after, Alarcon committed a violent foul on Adílio, as if still counting on the impunity that reigned in Santiago, but was sent off by Roque Cerullo.
Cobreloa kept pushing, and in a retaliatory move, Andrade was also sent off. Still, Flamengo had the ball, and in the 30th minute, Adílio broke free and tried to chip the ball over goalkeeper Wirth, who was already outside the box and blocked the dribble with his hands. A free kick just outside the box. Guess who's going to take it, the song asks, guess who's going to take it with his customary perfection, leaving the Chilean goalkeeper frozen in place? Zico, king of the Red-Black Nation, put his unmistakable signature on the sentence declaring Flamengo the best team in South America.
There was still time for reserve Anselmo to enter the game and return the blows to Mario Soto, who had left bruises on Adílio, Lico, Zico, and Tita. But what everyone really wanted was to get the party started, which would be short-lived because there was still a Rio de Janeiro championship to win and a long trip to Tokyo in mid-December, and everyone deserved to celebrate the trophy won with blood, sweat, and talent.".
To read the full text about the 1981 Libertadores, visit the History page of the official website: http://www.flamengo.com.br/site/conteudo/conteudo.php?id=12 .